In the art of fuel cells, there are a number of different forms of fuel cells which include adjacent anode and cathode sections separated by ion exchange membranes or barriers and which are filled with or contain volumes of anolyte and catholyte (electrolyte solutions) and in which anode and cathode plates are immersed. Still other fuel cells, of a somewhat similar nature, include ion exchange sections between and separated from the anode and cathode sections, by ion exchange barriers or membranes and which are filled with ionolyte solutions.
Effective and efficient operation of fuel cells of the general character referred to above is greatly dependent upon maintaining the electrolytes, that is, the anolytes and catholytes or the anolytes, ionolytes and catholytes in proper chemical balance. The normal fuel cell reaction in the fuel cells of the character referred to above works to adversely alter the chemical balance of the electrolytes and requires that the electrolytes be constantly monitored and regularly replaced with new or fresh electrolytes in order to maintain effective and efficient fuel cell operation.
To maintain the electrolytes in fuel cells in a properly balance condition by replacing the old or spent electrolytes with new or fresh electrolytes require that large and heavy supplies of new or fresh electrolytes be provided and maintained and requires complicated and inconvenient to operate means for effecting a replacement of spent electrolytes with fresh or new electrolytes in the fuel cells. Means must also be provided to receive and/or to effect disposal of the replaced or spent electrolytes. The whole of the apparatus or means required to effect handling new and old electrolytes in the course of operating fuel cells generally occupies more space, is heavier and can be more costly than the fuel cells served thereby. Further, the electrolytes are or can be costly to establish solutions and are such that the practice of replacing partially spent electrolytes with fresh electrolytes and directing the spent electrolytes to waste cannot be considered desirable and is certainly not a cost effective practice.
It is apparent that many prior art fuel cells have been determined to be wanting and unsuitable for practical use because they require large, heavy, costly and inconvenient to maintain and operate electrolyte supply means and/or systems, not because the fuel cells themselves are inherently wanting.
In accordance with the foregoing, there is a recognized want and need for electrolyte supply means and/or apparatus for fuel cells of the general character referred to in the preceding which eliminate the need to provide and maintain large volumes of fresh electrolytes, eliminate uneconomical waste of electrolytes and which are easy and economical to make and maintain, whereby sustained operation of such fuel cells can be made functionally and economically practical. More particularly, there is a want and need for an effecive and efficient means or apparatus for regenerating cathode electrolytes or catholytes for that class of fuel cells having cathode sections which are structurally separated from related anode sections or related ion exchange sections, whereby such fuel cells can be operated continuously and uninterruptedly on and with a small supply of catholyte.